Indian solider's death mourned

Behead 40 Pakistani soldiers for our two: Shiv Sena

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday strongly condemned the ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch District and sought a "befitting reply" from India to the killing of two Indian soldiers

"If our two soldiers are beheaded, we should behead their 40 soldiers... If such brutal attack takes place without any war it will demoralise our soldiers and they won't be able to fight for the country," Raut said.

Asserting that Pakistani cricketers and artistes must not be allowed to play or perform in India, Raut said: "You (Pakistan) play cricket matches here, go back and then kill our soldiers.

"We should put an end to the ongoing talks with Pakistan," he added.

Raut had earlier demanded the resignation of Defence Minister AK Antony over the incident.

"Antony should immediately resign from his post. It is not just the Sena that is demanding Antony's resignation, but it is the entire nation that wants him to quit. Where is the need for such a Defence Minister when such incidents take place?" he asked.

However, Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Salman Bashir on Wednesday denied a Pakistan Army attack on Indian soldiers in the Mendhar sector in Poonch district on Tuesday.

"I would like to address some of the concerns, which are expressed here in the Indian media since yesterday regarding what is called the Mendhar incident. First of all, I would like to say that Pakistan remains firmly committed to respecting the ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. It is important, I believe both governments agree, that the ceasefire, which is an important confidence building measure, must be respected by both sides," Bashir told ANI.

"In this context, we are mindful of the aberrations that have happened in the past. We are especially concerned about the incursion by the Indian forces on 6th of January when our post in the Haji Pir Pass sector was attacked which led to the martyrdom of one of the soldiers and injuries to several. This matter was raised by the Foreign Ministry with the Indian High Commission and also by the Director General Military Operations Pakistan with his Indian counterpart," he added.

In a major escalation to the ceasefire violations and infiltration attempts, a group of Pakistan Army soldiers raided across the Line of Control in Mendhar sector and killed two Indian soldiers and injured one more. The Pakistani troops attacked an area domination patrol party of the Indian Army.

Image:The two Indian soldiers have been identified as Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Mourners gather around the body of Indian Army soldier Lance Naik Hamraj who was allegedly killed by Pakistani soldiers on the line-of-control in Kashmir, during his funeral in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh state Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. India summoned Pakistan's top diplomat in New Delhi Wednesday to formally complain about an attack on an Indian army patrol in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that killed two soldiers and left their bodies mutilated.